Stroudsburg alum's company provides beds for needy children

A 2006 Stroudsburg High School graduate hopes his new company will provide children with one of their most basic needs: a place to sleep.

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By CHRISTINA TATU

poconorecord.com

By CHRISTINA TATU

Posted Dec. 3, 2012 at 12:01 AM

By CHRISTINA TATU

Posted Dec. 3, 2012 at 12:01 AM

» Social News

A 2006 Stroudsburg High School graduate hopes his new company will provide children with one of their most basic needs: a place to sleep.

"We founded Tuft & Needle with the mission of making a good night's sleep available to everyone. A big problem in our own country is that more than one in five children are poor," said Daehee Park.

The Tempe, Ariz., company, which was started in the spring by 24-year-old Park and his business partner, John Thomas, 27, of Nazareth, sells "shiki beds."

The Japanese-style beds are similar to a futon. They are "minimalist" style mattresses made entirely of cotton, which fold up for easy storage.

The beds are popular with city-dwellers and students, who may be dealing with tight living quarters, Park said.

In January, Park and Thomas will launch their initiative to start bringing beds to children in need.

Shoppers can go to the Tuft & Needle website and make a donation ranging from $25 to $99. The full $99 will purchase one bed for a child in need.

The first round of beds will go to 1,512 foster children in the Phoenix, Ariz., area who were identified as being in need of a new bed.

The children were identified by charities in the area, which also provided Park with his statistics about child poverty.

"Half a million children are in foster care as victims of abuse and neglect, through no fault of their own. Among these children, over a third of them are displaced to 'kinship providers,'" Park explained.

Those caregivers are usually grandparents, but could be aunts, uncles or cousins.

"Many of these kinship providers are financially overwhelmed as it is, and they do not receive support from the state for the child," Park said. "Foster children in these environments often end up sleeping on the floor without a bed to call their own."

Park and Thomas both attended Penn State.

Park graduated in 2009 from the university's College of Information Sciences and Technology.

After graduating, he and Thomas helped launch a website called Mulu, where users "shop for a cause."

On Mulu, celebrities recommend their favorite products or clothing. If a shopper decides to purchase that product, a donation is made to that celebrity's charity of choice.

Park became interested in shiki beds in college when researching what type of mattress would be best for a smaller living space.

"Regular mattresses are really hard to ship, but we are really in the right position to do it because that kind of mattress can roll up," he explained about the Tuft & Needle charity project.

The mattresses would be shipped by FedEx, directly to the recipient's doorstep.

Park declined to specify how many beds the startup company has sold through their regular website so far.

The company has a staff of eight, with the price of beds ranging from $299 for a twin size to $399 for a queen size.

Park and Thomas raised the money to start the company on their own, without relying on the help of outside investors.

"The fact that there are so many children who don't have beds and are sleeping on the floor, as a bed company, we think that's not acceptable. There are other companies who are in a position to do something, but they aren't," Parks said.

"We think this is a great time to focus on our country and focus on the kids here."

For more information about the company or to donate, visit tuftandneedle.com.